Insulated rail-joint.



E. P.. SGHERMERHORN.

INSULATED RAIL JOINT.

APPLICATION :FILED Ammo. 1 913.

'Patented J an. 20, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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4 ,M N MQONW E. E. SCHERMEBHORN.

INSULATBD RAIL JOINT.

' APPLICATION FILED APR. 2e, 1913.

1,084,908. Patented @11.20, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Y fyi .Y vinken/Erg' E. F. SGHERMBRHORM INSULATBD RAIL JOINT.

APPLICATION HLBD APR.26. 1913.

Patented J an. 20, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

ano/mm1 UNITED" STATES PATENT Q-FFICE.

EDWARDS F. SCHERMEBHORN, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, $SIGNQR- TO THE RAI.

JOINT COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A QDBPQMTIQN .0F NEW 'YQRK.

:Neumann aart-Jamin.

Specication of Letters ratent.

Batented Jan. 20, 1914.

Application tiled April 26, 1913:. Serial No. 763,792.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARDS F. SCHER- MnnHonN, citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of NewYork, have invented cer-- tain new and useful Improvements in InsulatedRail-Joints, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improvement in insulated rail joints, theobject of which is to provide a joint of this character which shall havea maximum strength and durability with a minimum number of parts,rendering the same easy of manufacture and easy ofapplication in track.

A. special object of the' invention is to provide a means for thoroughlyinsulating a rail joint in such a manner as to permit of metallicconnection between each joint bar and the head of one rail, preferablythe receiving rail, thus avoiding the use of the insulation at the placemost subject to wear and consequently materially increasing the life ofthe joint as an insulator.

Also the improvement provides for allowing the base section ofinsulation to extend the full length of the joint since such insulationis not subjected to the same destructivo' wear as .that under the headsof the rails, and in this connection the use of the continuous baseinsulation avoids the considerable rigidity and stiffness of an allmetalconstruction for one end -of the joint and provides uniformity t offlexibility throughout.

lVith tl ese and such other objects in view as lwill readily appear tothose familiar with the art, the invention consists in the nove'lcombination of parts herein fully described, illustrated and claimed,and certain preferable embodiments ofthe invention are illustrated inthe accompanying drawings, in

which- [Figure 1 is asectional perspective view insulation is sta gered.Fig. 8 is a cross sectional view on t eline 8 8 of Fig. 7.

Like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the severalfigures of the drawings.

The' features of improvement constituting the present invention are notlimited in their application to any particular type of rail joints, andhence are available for use with fish plates, angle bars, channel bars,or any of the divers forms of splices which extend across the jointbetween the meeting ends of the rails. but for purposes of illustration,there' is shown in the drawings an angle bar type of railjointconstrncted in accordance with the invention.

Referring first to the embodiment suggested in Figs. 1 and 2 of thedrawings, the rail joint shown therein includes the separate rails 1 and2 which are respectively the leaving rail and the receiving rail, a pairof oppositely arranged angle joint bars3, and the usual joint bolts 4.Each joint 'har 3 is rolled or otherwise formed at one side of thetransverse center thereof with a bearing offset 5 on the head thereofwhich has a'direct metal-to-metal bearing contact with the under side ofthe' head of one 'rail end, the corresponding depression or recess 6 inthe other half of the head portion of said bar beine' adapted to receivea head section of insu ation as will presently appear. Therefore, thestructural characteristic of each joint bar is a head bearing offset fordirect engagement with the head of one rail end,

tact between the head of each joint bar and j the under side of the headof the receiving rail of the joint, thus confining the head section ofinsulation to a position between the joint bar and the under side of thehead of the leaving rail, while at the same time involving the use of abase section of insulation for the base flanges of both of the rails.This manner of insulatinr the joint to secure the results specific( mabe accomplished in different Ways, and y different forms of insulation,as suggested by the series of Figs. 3 to 6 inclusive of the draw- 'Forinstance, as shown in Figs. 1, 2,

Vand 3 of the drawings, the insulationl for each side of the jointinaylconsist of a oneand including a full length base section oi.-

insulation 8, and approximately a half length head'section of insulation9, the two Asections being integral parts of the saine sheet andconnectedby ttweb section ot insulation 10 that is. coextensive inlength with the base'section 8 and is provided with the saine number ofbolt holes 11 as there are joint bolts t, so as to receivel the latterand be retained thereby againstl longitudinal. or vertical displacement.In this form of insulation, the web section 1() is cut away near its topedge as at 12 for approirirnately one-half of its length so as to leavethe proecting head section 9 along one end port-ion only of 'the sheet,said head section 9 ot insulation being adapted to be interposed betweenthe under side ofthe head of the leaving rail and theheadportion 'ofthejoint bar, that portionofthehead of the joint bar which directly engagesor metallically connects withthe rail head of the receiving rail lyingabove the cut away edge 12 of the insulation sheet, and hencebeinguninsulated. The full length base section of 'insulation 8 extends thefull length of the joint and lies between the flanges of both rails andthe' underside of the iiange of the angle bar. l

The modiiied form of insulation shown in Fig. i is substantially thesame in' construction as that illustrated in Fig. 3 excepting that thatpart of the web portion 10 which is not provided with a headsection ofinsulation may have it'ornied therein, at its upper edge, open keepernotches 13 that dev tachably interlock with the bolts through thereceiving rail. This nioditic-ation also shows the insulation dividedvertically into two pieces at or near its center.

As suggested in Fig. 5 the insulation may ybe in one sheet, and theheadless end 12a thereof may be cut away on a line entirely below thebolts.y without ati'ectii'ig the insulating properties of the joint'orimpairing its stability. Again, as suggested in Fig. 6, the head section9a, and the base Section 8, of the insulation, may bein separate pieces,said head section having keeper notches 14 to engage the bolts, orequivalent means, and adapted to be inserted between the head oi"theleaving rail and the joint bar, and the base section 8Ll being clampedunder the flange of the angle bar and eX- tending .over the railbases.

Any suitable holt insulation may be Ieinployed, but, preferably, in thejoint shown in Figs. 1 and 9., this may be accomplished by means, ofinsulating straps 15 4and metal straps 15 interposed between .the outersides Ithe nut end of each bolt'.

of the joint hars and the heads and nuts of the bolts'for the leavingrail, in connection with insulating terrules or sleeves'lG placedwithin4 the bolt holes of the joint bars, as may be plainly seen fromFigs. 1 and 2 of the drawings.

In adapting the invention to a staggered q or cross head insulat-ionasshown in Figs. 7' and'S of the drawings, no structural changes arerequired at all in either the joint bar, the

insulation, or any parts of the joint. It is simply -necessary toarrange the joint bars and the insulation-in reverse relation so thatthe head of one joint bar is insulated from the head of one rail, andthe head of the other joint bar is insulated from the head of the otherrail, the other ends of both'joint bars being indirect contact with theunder sides of rail heads. In this application of the invention, thebase insulation is the saine, viz., over thebase ti'anges of bot-h,rails.

Also, the bolt insulation may be the saine exl cept that in the saidstaggered or cross head insulated joint', it is only necessary toinsulate the bolts from that end of the joint bar which is insulatedcompletely from its adja cent rail, and consequently in the illustrationgiven, the bolt insulation is shown only on Furthermore, theillustration lin Figs. 7 and 8 of the drawings shows an application ofthe longitudinally divided fiber of Fig. 6 of the drawings. These iguresof the drawings also show that feature oi". the invention which involvesa head section of insulation which may be oit greater length thanone-halt the length ot the joint, so as to -cross the center of thejoint at the meeting endsot the rails, as indicated bv the referencenumber 18 in Fig. 7

vof the drawings. This projection of the head section of insulation,past the vertical transverse vcenter of the joint, provides aconstruction wherein a portion of the head of the joint bar `has adirect contact with the head of one rail, while the balance ot the headof the `bar has an insulated bearing beneath the headsv of both rails,combined with base insulation for the tlanges of both rails. This formof the invention provides for a very effective insulation ot the joint,inas inuch as the inner end extension 18 of the. head insulationmaterially assists in preventing short circuiting or current leakage atthe meeting ends oi' the rails, due to wear ot the insulating end postor other causes.

l claim:

1. An insulated rail joint comprising, in combination with'the rails, apair oit joint bars each of whichhas a direct electrical contact withthe head ot one rail, and insulationfor each side of the joint, whichinsulationincludesI a head section between the other rail and the jointbar at the same side, and' a base section extending throughout the jointat both sides.

2. An insulated rail joint including in combination With the rails, apair of joint bars, each of which has an velectrical connection With thehead-of one rail, and a sheet of insulation for each side of the jointhaving a base section extending throughout thejoint and a head sectionformed with one end portion of the base section.

An insulated rail joint includin in combination Wit-h the rails, a pairof joint bars each of which has an electrical connection with the headof one rail,and a sheet of insulation consisting of a single piece ofinsulating material having a continuous base section coextensive Withthe length of the joint and a single head section projecting from one end portion of the base section.

4. An insulated rail* joint including, in combination with the rails, ajoint bar, a portion of the head of said bar havin a direct electricalcontact with the head o one rail and the balance of said head having anin sulated bearing beneath the heads of both rails and a base insulationfor the rail Hanges.

5. An insulated rail joint including the rails, a joint bar, a port-ionof the head of said bar having an electrical contact with one rail, thebalance of said head being electrically insulated from both rails, andelectrical insulation for the rail flanges.

In testimony Whereot` I hereunto aiix my` signature in the presence oftwo witnesses. A

' EDWARDS r. sonminranon.

lVitnesscs BENJ. WoLHAUPrEn KATHERINE MCNALLY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ive cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner ot Patenti,

. Washington, D. C.

